News

More border rules ease in Australia ahead of Christmas holidays

Coronavirus-free Queensland state opened its domestic borders to all vaccinated people on Monday for the first time in nearly five months, as Australians gear up for quarantine-free travel across most of the country during the busy Christmas period. Hundreds of cars queued up at the state's Southern border with New South Wales well before the rules were set to relax at 1 am local time (1400 GMT, Sunday), television footage showed. Queensland, Australia's third most populous state, shut its border to New South Wales in July and then later to people coming from Victoria to protect against a Delta outbreak that rocked the country's east for several months. "We will live with Covid - but on our terms," state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said in a tweet as the state topped its goal of having 80 per cent of people over 16 fully vaccinated - a prerequisite for relaxing rules. Qantas said it would fly nearly 10,000 passengers to and from Queensland on Monday in about 100 flights, with most fully booked. The easing of border restrictions comes just days before school summer holidays begin and will be a boost for the state's lucrative tourism sector which has been badly hit by the internal border curbs. Australian states have been relaxing border rules after reaching higher vaccination levels despite the threat from the new Omicron variant. Tasmania is set to reopen its borders to other states later this week, while Western Australia said it would reopen its border on February 5. South Australia has been welcoming interstate arrivals since late November. Australia has recorded nearly 229,000 cases of Covid-19 and 2,104 deaths, far fewer than many comparable countries. Around 70 cases of the Omicron variant have been detected in the country so far, mainly in Sydney.

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DIAL introduces eboarding facility at Delhi airport

Delhi airport operator DIAL has introduced an e-boarding facility for passengers at all the three terminals of the airport, according to a statement issued on Monday. "All boarding gates have contactless e-boarding facility with boarding card scanners, which will allow passengers to flash their physical or e-boarding cards to verify flight details and once done, they can proceed for security checks," the statement issued by the GMR-group led Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) said. The e-boarding gates have been set up at Terminal 3 and Terminal 2 and deployment is in progress at Terminal 1, it noted. The procedure not only minimises the touching of facility surfaces and interaction among people in the times of Covid-19, but also shortens the boarding time, the DIAL said. This technology has reduced 50 per cent of the transaction time, resulting in lower queues, and has also improved the security aspect as the boarding card details are verified with the back offices of the airlines,it mentioned. Meanwhile, the DIAL has also installed e-processing kiosks at the entry gates of Terminal 2 and over the next few weeks, these would be installed at Terminal 3 and Terminal 1, it noted. The e-processing kiosks are at the entry gates of the airport terminal while the passengers have to go through the eboarding gates before the security check inside the airport terminal. "This (e-processing kiosks at the entry gates) will further reduce the travel documents validation time for CISF personnel significantly and thus, offer an end-to-end seamless and contactless digital travel experience to the passengers," the statement said.

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Watch Dubai's legendary New Year's Eve fireworks from the sea; timings, cost, how to book

We all know how fabulous is Dubai's New Year’s Eve fireworks are. You can catch all that action and more from the sea as Dubai rings in 2022. Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) has announced special offers and "premium services" to watch the grand spectacle from marine transit modes like the Dubai Ferry, waterbus and the abra. “The charming moments of watching stunning fireworks at the famed Burj Khalifa and Dubai Festival City as well as Burj Al Arab, Atlantis, Blue Water, and the Jumeirah Beach Towers dotting the Dubai waterfront are bound to create unforgettable memories for marine transit riders,” said Mohammed Abu Baker AlHashemi, director of Marine Transport. Timings The Dubai Ferry will start cruising from 10pm on New Year's Eve, continuing up to 1.30am. The waterbus and abra journeys will start at 10.30pm and end at 1.30am. Fares Abra: It will commence from the Marina Mall station (Dubai Marina) at a fare of Dh125 for adults, with children under the age of two going for free.

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Meghalaya Tourism to present 2-day Nokrek Festival 2021

The Meghalaya Tourism department gears up to present the first-ever Nokrek Festival 2021 in East Garo Hills. Meghalaya Tourism while sharing a promo on its Twitter handle has invited all to join the festival, which is scheduled to be held from December 16-18, 2021. The event will be held at Daribokgre Playground in Meghalaya’s East Garo Hills district. The festival is being organised by the A’chik Tourism Society. It will be an event full of fun and frolic. From sports, food, music and cultural activities to adventure, the festival is getting ready to rock ahead of Christmas. The event is being organised to mark the Gold Jubilee celebrations of the formation of Meghalaya state. The A’chik Tourism Society will organise a number of competitions during the two days of the festival. There will be an exhibition of various items. In order to attract the children towards sports, kids games will be organised. Archery, which is one of the traditional sports of Meghalaya, will be an attraction of the festival. Singing competition and dancing competition will be organised at the event. There will an ‘Inter-Village Tug of War’ competition where a number of villages across Meghalaya will participate. The other competitions to be organised on the occasion include citrus rating competition, Ziplining cooking competition and traditional music competition. To promote adventure activities, the organisers have planned mountain biking and trekking & camping during the festival. For any query, people can contact the organisers on WhatsApp at 91-98629 12547.

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Germany plans to ease testing for those with Covid-19 booster

Germany's new health minister wants to exempt people who have had a booster vaccination from having to take a coronavirus test before entering some leisure facilities, according to a document drafted by his ministry. The proposal, to be discussed by Health Minister Karl Lauterbach and ministers from Germany's 16 federal states on Tuesday, is aimed at encouraging people to get a booster shot and relieving testing capacity. However, a negative test result would still be required to enter hospitals and care homes to help protect more vulnerable people, according to the draft, reviewed by Reuters. Some 69.9 per cent of the population has had two vaccinations and 23.8 per cent have received a booster. Currently, people who have had two shots or recovered have to show a negative Covid-19 test to enter places with a high risk of infection, such as night clubs or discos. "Scientific evidence suggests that a booster reduces both the risk of infection and the risk of further transmission. In addition, the lifting of the obligation to take a test could relieve the heavily used test capacity," the draft, drawn up by the federal health ministry in consultation with regional ministries, said. Like other European countries, Germany is struggling to curb a fourth wave of the coronavirus. Some 473 people were reported on Tuesday to have died with Covid-19. The Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases also reported 30,823 new cases but the 7-day incidence was down at 375.0 per 100,000 people from 389.2 on Monday. The document also proposed that travellers who had been in a "virus variant area" 10 days before their arrival in Germany should take a PCR test prior to leaving and carry out a further PCR test upon arrival in Germany at the airport. "The people arriving must immediately go into quarantine until the result is available," said the draft

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Emaar prepares spectacular New Year’s Eve in Dubai

Emaar is getting ready to ring in 2022 with a fantastic New Year’s Eve display that will witness a fabulous firework show, choreographed to laser, lights and music. Aptly called Eve of Wonders, spectators across the globe are invited to see a dazzling spectacle as Emaar decorates Dubai’s skies with a display unlike any other. As the clock strikes midnight on December 31st, the spectacular pyrotechnics, light and laser extravaganza will light up the night sky in Dubai Downtown. In line with the theme, a brand-new laser feature is making its debut at the Dubai Fountain in sync with Burj Khalifa’s stunning programme, creating a memorable masterpiece that is poised to redefine new year’s celebrations worldwide. Whether in Downtown Dubai, watching online, or on television worldwide, the public is guaranteed a show-stopping gala event to welcome in the new year. Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Emaar, said: “The UAE, and Dubai, inspire hope and optimism, and bring together a global community to shape the future. This year’s celebration is a tribute to our nation’s achievements in the past 50 years. “It also highlights our leadership’s vision to create a new age of progress through openness and collaboration, and Emaar is proud to be part of it.”

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